Disney projects up to $190 million 'Lone Ranger' loss

The signage at the main gate of The Walt Disney Co. is pictured in Burbank, California, May 7, 2012.

Reuters/Fred Prouser

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Walt Disney Co expects to lose between $160 million and $190 million on its expensive summer movie bomb "The Lone Ranger," the media giant said on Tuesday as it reported a small gain in quarterly profit that beat Wall Street forecasts.

The loss for "The Lone Ranger," a Western starring Johnny Depp, will be recorded for the quarter that ends in September, Chief Financial Officer Jay Rasulo said on a conference call with analysts.

Disney shares dropped 1.9 percent in after-hours trading to $65.79 from a $67.05 close on the New York Stock Exchange.

"Lone Ranger" opened July 3 with a dismal $29 million in U.S. and Canadian ticket sales over its first weekend.

"There has been a lot said, I know, about the risk of basically high cost, tent pole films," Disney CEO Bob Iger said, "and we certainly can attest to that given what happened with Lone Ranger."

"We still think the tentpole strategy is a good strategy," he said. "That one way to rise above the din and the competition is with a big film, not just big budget, but big story, big cast, big marketing behind it."

For the quarter that ended in June, operating income at Disney's film studio declined 36 percent as hit film "Iron Man 3" failed to match the spectacular success of last year's "The Avengers."